I'm about 36 hours from vacation. It's going to be sick. San Diego for three days with the boys. Then Denver for a couple days capped off by Metallica.
I'm not totally sure what San Diego holds, but I'm sure the fellas out there have some things lined up. Preliminary things I've heard are golfing, fishing, boozing and tail chasing. All good things. Success = vacation. I'm pretty excited for this one as it will be one of the first vacations in a long time that's purely mine and doesn't involve taking time off for funeral, family gathering or benefit for a sick family member.
Plus I'm just stoked for some sun. Weather forecast for Thursday, Friday and Saturday are all in the upper 70s. Weather.com even lists Friday as the day to "plan a scenic drive." Not sure that will take place, but that can only be a good thing. Plus Friday's sounding like it could be the sickest day in recent memory.
Last thing on the vacation. I really needed one. I think this is the last step in putting a lot of stuff in perspective of stuff that's happened recently. In the end vacations are the best.
Also, I'll be starting 25 new things in the 25 days leading up to my 25th birthday. An old friend mentioned she did this and I thought it was one of the most kick ass things I've ever heard. So that's what I'm setting out to do. Should be the shit. It starts on Thursday, so hopefully I'll keep up on it. The first couple days should be easy, but I'm hoping to stick to it and do some things I would never usually do.
Onto sports.
The World Series has been absolutely, positively boring. I've decided I'm rooting for the Phillies to win at home since we might see the fans rush the field. It still to this day is one of my favorite things about sports. Plus you never see it in professional sports. In the Buffalo airport they have this huge picture of when the Bills made the playoffs in the late 80's and they rushed the field, tore down the goal posts and marched them right out of Ralph Wilson. The best part is my dad's buddy Ed is on top of the goal posts. I've loved this picture since I was 4-years-old.
On a side note, isn't this World Series a prime example of why the baseball season should effectively be shortened. This is what you get when you play baseball in Philadelphia (or about 15 other cities) in late October and possibly early November. Plus when baseball starts, it's usually miserable. Chop it down to 120 or 130 games.
CU is miserable. Just plain porous. 58-0 to Mizzou hurt in a lot of ways. But I'm not off the bandwagon. Looking at the injuries, how many young players and the schedule we've had can make a fan actually believe CU could be good in years to come. The reality is — I'm afraid to say this — is that I think this CU team is softer silk. When CU was badass, they weren't soft. Sure there were thugs, gang members and people that should be in jail on those teams, but they weren't soft. They went to battle, lined up and for the most part were meaner than the other team. That's not the case now.
The Bills are 5-2. Better than I thought they'd be. Currently we're 0-1 with the Paul Posluszny jersey. What do I do if we lose the next three? Do I ditch the jersey? Maybe I'll just buy one of the opposing team each week and throw them the classic LG sports curse. Expensive, but I can't tell you how much I'd pay for a championship.
How about Mike Singeltary? The new Niners coach — no matter how he does and I think he'll do great — should be applauded. He sent Vernon Davis to the locker room after Davis got a personal foul. Davis is the first guy you want off the bus at opposing stadiums. He's a freakish athlete. But the old thing of built like tarzan, play like Jane fits him. He acts like T.O. but plays like LG. So Singeltary, sick of Davis' bullshit, said enough is enough and sent the crybaby to the locker room.
I like that.
What I don't like that much anymore is ESPN. If there is not a game on, it's pretty much become unwatchable. Each week the hour long Sportscenter spends about 20 minutes discussing the Cowboys. Sure they're dubbed "Americas Team" but for christ sake. I don't care about Romo, I dont' care about TO, I don't care about Jerry Jones, I don't care about Wade Phillips. Unfortunately ESPN thinks I do. But this has become common place for them. They jump on a story or a team and ride that thing and put it away wet. It's horrible.
Not a whole lot is new. Weekend was pretty laid back. Friday covered Steamboat-Buena Vista football in Buena Vista. It was interesting seeing as how Buena Vista was my chief rival in high school. Thinking back, I didn't do a lot of good things in that town and I still hate it.
Saturday watched part of the CU game, then went to a buddies for Fright Night. Double feature of Poltergeist and the Rob Zombie version of Halloween. Couple thoughts on this. I was there with my buddy his fiance, another couple and a girl I know. They're all a little older than me. It was interesting in the fact that this is potentially what Saturday night has come down or will be in the future. Movie Night. Not sure if I'm ready to put away the party pants, but Movie Night was actually pretty fun. I guess in a way it was like looking into the future to see what becomes of stuff when you're done partying.
Other note. Really enjoyed Halloween. That's 3 for 3 with Rob Zombie films. House of a 1,000 Corpses was sick. Devil's Rejects is one of my favorite movies and Halloween was good. This Halloween was especially good because it's Zombie's take on how Michael Myers became Michael Myers. In the originals you never get anything from his childhood. Zombie does an hour of this and then an hour of remake. Thought it was well done.
Sunday was football day, played some frisbee golf (sorry Kev) and ate pie at some co-workers place. This was sweet since the two girls that made the pie are quite good at cooking. that and they made like five pies.
Now it's on to vacation.
HEF of the Week:
Again pretty silent on the HEF's. CU and Buffalo both lost, but this is the gem of the week. Of course it comes from Buena Vista. So I'm on my way down from the press box before the game to get my coat (it was cold as a a witches titty in a brass bra in the dead of winter). Walking down the stairs. Just walking, walking, strutting, doing my thing. Bam. One misstep and I took a tumble. Fell down one thing of stairs onto the landing. Looked up and there is the Steamboat coach, a huge black referee and some lady. I'm just laying there and the black referee says "Wow boy, watch your step" before preceding to step over me. Nice. On the plus side, his zipper was down for three plus quarters and everyone (at least me) laughed at him.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
A sports and life realization
For years I wondered why in gods name did sports engulf a good portion of my life and how it works with the relationships I have with people.
There were certain things I knew.
I will have to marry a girl that's a sports fan and understands that watching football all day on Saturday and Sunday are completely normal. That Tuesday night and possibly Sunday morning are golf days with the fellas (also possibly any other day of the week). That March is for college basketball and it's completely acceptable to call-in sick. In fact if you don't at least one day, you are in fact not a fan. That fantasy football is an absolute part of everyday life. That any chance you have to attend a live sporting event is a must. That a $100 yearly subscription to Rivals is a must to be on the in. That when my teams lose, there's a couple hour process of trying to get over it. Sometimes this can be drawn out to days. That if one of the teams I bleed for (Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, Colorado Rockies, Colorado Buffs) ever wins the whole thing, I will have to be in the city to take it all in. On a side note this thought bit me two years ago when the Sabres looked like they'd at least make the Stanley Cup. Booked my flight for the dates that would cover Game 4, 5 and 6. Well the Sabres lost to the Senators in the conference finals. That hurt financially, but I chalked it up as good sports Zen.
That going to a Michigan-OSU game, Georgia-Florida game, a game at Notre Dame, a game at Lambeau Field, Fenway Park and Wrigley are all accepted expenses. Even great vacations.
That's just to name a few sports things, that I found have to be done.
In my quest to find out why sports so enthralled me, I wondered if it's just my truest of true passions. I'm not sure how I'd react if I was taken from sports for a week, month or even longer. I was in sixth grade at this camp we all had to go to. It was essentially a week in the woods, doing team building stuff. That week remains vivid because the first O.J. Simpson trial came to a verdict and the Bills played on Monday Night Football. While all the other kids were trying to see who could kiss who and who liked who, I wanted to know the results of the Juice's trial and whether the Bills won. THe counselors wouldn't let me watch any television, listen to the radio or call home. I was pissed. Real pissed. Finally I faked an illness, was able to call my mom and get the lowdown. She wanted to know if I was OK. "Of course mom," I said, "I just want to know if O.J.'s innocent and if the Bills won." THe Bills did on a last second field goal and of course the Juice was innocent.
That's sort of sick. I have wondered if it's that I just like people who are passionate about something. Anything. I think that's part of it. I love passion. I love people who are passionate. I think sports and passion go hand in hand together. I think that's why I like who I like and am interested in the people I am. They don't always necessarily like sports (most do and in some cases are just as sick as I am about it) but they have that unquestioned passion that I do. If it's for a sports team, great. If it's for something else, that interests me.
But I found something that's quite interesting the other day. Since I'm on a reading kick the past couple of weeks, I've been plowing through all sorts of stuff. I found two things that don't exactly relate to each other, but I think they give a decent correspondence on some things.
The first comes from On The Road by Jack Kerouac. Early in the book, Kerouac's trying to explain why he does what he does.
He writes:
"I've been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes 'Awww!'"
The other comes from a story about Jim Valvano's battle with cancer. It's by Gary Smith from SI. Valvano is coming to grips with the fact he'll die within the next couple months, and wonders why sports have engulfed him. Mainly whether sports is all about winning. Valvano finds this when reading a book from Brian Glanville, a British sportswriter.
"That is why athletics are important. They demonstrate the scope of human possibility, which is unlimited. The inconceivable is conceived, and then it is accomplished."
Valvano says of the passage "That's why we strive. That's the value of sports. All those games, they mean nothing — and they mean everything."
I think if you take passage A and passage B, it's a pretty gauge for why I like people and why I like sports and how I see them intertwined. It's not really about just liking something for the way it is, it's about being passionate about something with a purpose.
Oh, and if you haven't seen Jimmy V's speech at the 1993 ESPY's, it's worth a look. Talk about passion. It's still to this day one of the best speeches I've ever seen. I still shed a few every time I see it.
Jimmy V at the Espy's.
Now that we've discussed that, here's the happenings in the life....not much. Friday played drinking games, Saturday worked before watching football and Sunday watched football all day, then Game 7 of the ALCS. Sunday was in essence Manday. Me and the Geenis, had designated seets on the couch fired up some brats and drank beer. Watched the Bills game, the Colts game, took a two-hour break to play some actual football, then came home to watch the ALCS. I ate five brats and drank probably 12 beers. Not to be outdone, Gee polished off six brats and must have drank at least 17 beers. But it was spread out so at no point were either of us drunk. It was in fact a very good day.
Other sports items:
The Buffalo Bills may be for real. I'm not going to fully say it yet, because of the curse I seem to have with sports sometimes. The other week at state golf I followed two Steamboat kids around. But since I was writing for some other papers I usually only got to watch the Steamboat kids for a couple holes. The second day I watched each of them for three holes. The one kid went par, bogey, bogey, while the other kid went double-bogey, bogey, double-bogey. Considering they shot 73 and 75 respectively, my presence brought some bad luck. I'm not doing that to the Bills. But if Paul Posluszny ever comes across this let me apologize. I just purchased a throwback jersey of you Paul. I think it will look great, but don't blame me if you tear every ligament in you lower body in next week's game.
CU is looking like it might be bowl eligible. THey have to win two of these games to get to six wins. Missouri (loss) A&M (toss-up) Oklahoma State (probable loss), Iowa State (win) and Nebraska (toss-up).
World Series time. Going into the championship series I had the Dodgers winning in 7 and the Red Sox winning in 5. Both utterly wrong.
But here's the thoughts on the WOrld Series. I think the Rays win just because they only have a couple days off. the Phillies won't have played for more than a week when Game 1 rolls around. This is reminiscent of the Rockies last year. THey had the week, the Red Sox didn't. Not saying it changes the outcome, but it thwarted Da Rox momentum.
Plus I like the starting pitching of the Rays better. The lineups are a push, maybe with a slight edge to the Phils. I like the Phil's bullpen a little better, but with David Price looking like a young Randy Johnson coming out of the bullpen, that could be up for debate. Manager wise, I'll take Joe Maddon. He just seems cool. Real cool.
HEF of the Week:
SInce I don't do much, there's not a lot to mention. I guess we'll go to our live football game on Thursday. WE played for a couple hours. But since it started as just a 3-person game, it got somewhat boring after a while. But I did run about five 40-yard dashes. Turns out I don't have world class speed. I don't even have third-world country class speed. Geenis (who counts way to fast if you ask me) counted me running a 10.4-40 yard dash. That's beyond slow. That's cold honey running down the side of the bottle slow. In all honestly with Gee counting normal, I'm probably somewhere in the mid 7's. Ussain Bolt does not have to worry about Luke Graham catching him.
There were certain things I knew.
I will have to marry a girl that's a sports fan and understands that watching football all day on Saturday and Sunday are completely normal. That Tuesday night and possibly Sunday morning are golf days with the fellas (also possibly any other day of the week). That March is for college basketball and it's completely acceptable to call-in sick. In fact if you don't at least one day, you are in fact not a fan. That fantasy football is an absolute part of everyday life. That any chance you have to attend a live sporting event is a must. That a $100 yearly subscription to Rivals is a must to be on the in. That when my teams lose, there's a couple hour process of trying to get over it. Sometimes this can be drawn out to days. That if one of the teams I bleed for (Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, Colorado Rockies, Colorado Buffs) ever wins the whole thing, I will have to be in the city to take it all in. On a side note this thought bit me two years ago when the Sabres looked like they'd at least make the Stanley Cup. Booked my flight for the dates that would cover Game 4, 5 and 6. Well the Sabres lost to the Senators in the conference finals. That hurt financially, but I chalked it up as good sports Zen.
That going to a Michigan-OSU game, Georgia-Florida game, a game at Notre Dame, a game at Lambeau Field, Fenway Park and Wrigley are all accepted expenses. Even great vacations.
That's just to name a few sports things, that I found have to be done.
In my quest to find out why sports so enthralled me, I wondered if it's just my truest of true passions. I'm not sure how I'd react if I was taken from sports for a week, month or even longer. I was in sixth grade at this camp we all had to go to. It was essentially a week in the woods, doing team building stuff. That week remains vivid because the first O.J. Simpson trial came to a verdict and the Bills played on Monday Night Football. While all the other kids were trying to see who could kiss who and who liked who, I wanted to know the results of the Juice's trial and whether the Bills won. THe counselors wouldn't let me watch any television, listen to the radio or call home. I was pissed. Real pissed. Finally I faked an illness, was able to call my mom and get the lowdown. She wanted to know if I was OK. "Of course mom," I said, "I just want to know if O.J.'s innocent and if the Bills won." THe Bills did on a last second field goal and of course the Juice was innocent.
That's sort of sick. I have wondered if it's that I just like people who are passionate about something. Anything. I think that's part of it. I love passion. I love people who are passionate. I think sports and passion go hand in hand together. I think that's why I like who I like and am interested in the people I am. They don't always necessarily like sports (most do and in some cases are just as sick as I am about it) but they have that unquestioned passion that I do. If it's for a sports team, great. If it's for something else, that interests me.
But I found something that's quite interesting the other day. Since I'm on a reading kick the past couple of weeks, I've been plowing through all sorts of stuff. I found two things that don't exactly relate to each other, but I think they give a decent correspondence on some things.
The first comes from On The Road by Jack Kerouac. Early in the book, Kerouac's trying to explain why he does what he does.
He writes:
"I've been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes 'Awww!'"
The other comes from a story about Jim Valvano's battle with cancer. It's by Gary Smith from SI. Valvano is coming to grips with the fact he'll die within the next couple months, and wonders why sports have engulfed him. Mainly whether sports is all about winning. Valvano finds this when reading a book from Brian Glanville, a British sportswriter.
"That is why athletics are important. They demonstrate the scope of human possibility, which is unlimited. The inconceivable is conceived, and then it is accomplished."
Valvano says of the passage "That's why we strive. That's the value of sports. All those games, they mean nothing — and they mean everything."
I think if you take passage A and passage B, it's a pretty gauge for why I like people and why I like sports and how I see them intertwined. It's not really about just liking something for the way it is, it's about being passionate about something with a purpose.
Oh, and if you haven't seen Jimmy V's speech at the 1993 ESPY's, it's worth a look. Talk about passion. It's still to this day one of the best speeches I've ever seen. I still shed a few every time I see it.
Jimmy V at the Espy's.
Now that we've discussed that, here's the happenings in the life....not much. Friday played drinking games, Saturday worked before watching football and Sunday watched football all day, then Game 7 of the ALCS. Sunday was in essence Manday. Me and the Geenis, had designated seets on the couch fired up some brats and drank beer. Watched the Bills game, the Colts game, took a two-hour break to play some actual football, then came home to watch the ALCS. I ate five brats and drank probably 12 beers. Not to be outdone, Gee polished off six brats and must have drank at least 17 beers. But it was spread out so at no point were either of us drunk. It was in fact a very good day.
Other sports items:
The Buffalo Bills may be for real. I'm not going to fully say it yet, because of the curse I seem to have with sports sometimes. The other week at state golf I followed two Steamboat kids around. But since I was writing for some other papers I usually only got to watch the Steamboat kids for a couple holes. The second day I watched each of them for three holes. The one kid went par, bogey, bogey, while the other kid went double-bogey, bogey, double-bogey. Considering they shot 73 and 75 respectively, my presence brought some bad luck. I'm not doing that to the Bills. But if Paul Posluszny ever comes across this let me apologize. I just purchased a throwback jersey of you Paul. I think it will look great, but don't blame me if you tear every ligament in you lower body in next week's game.
CU is looking like it might be bowl eligible. THey have to win two of these games to get to six wins. Missouri (loss) A&M (toss-up) Oklahoma State (probable loss), Iowa State (win) and Nebraska (toss-up).
World Series time. Going into the championship series I had the Dodgers winning in 7 and the Red Sox winning in 5. Both utterly wrong.
But here's the thoughts on the WOrld Series. I think the Rays win just because they only have a couple days off. the Phillies won't have played for more than a week when Game 1 rolls around. This is reminiscent of the Rockies last year. THey had the week, the Red Sox didn't. Not saying it changes the outcome, but it thwarted Da Rox momentum.
Plus I like the starting pitching of the Rays better. The lineups are a push, maybe with a slight edge to the Phils. I like the Phil's bullpen a little better, but with David Price looking like a young Randy Johnson coming out of the bullpen, that could be up for debate. Manager wise, I'll take Joe Maddon. He just seems cool. Real cool.
HEF of the Week:
SInce I don't do much, there's not a lot to mention. I guess we'll go to our live football game on Thursday. WE played for a couple hours. But since it started as just a 3-person game, it got somewhat boring after a while. But I did run about five 40-yard dashes. Turns out I don't have world class speed. I don't even have third-world country class speed. Geenis (who counts way to fast if you ask me) counted me running a 10.4-40 yard dash. That's beyond slow. That's cold honey running down the side of the bottle slow. In all honestly with Gee counting normal, I'm probably somewhere in the mid 7's. Ussain Bolt does not have to worry about Luke Graham catching him.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Beer, beer, beer, beer
Wow. Beer Fest 08 was a show. Me and the Geenis made the trek to Denver for the Great American Beer Fest. It was what you'd think. You get a small glass that has a one ounce line in it. Go around to all the breweries you want and get an ounce of beer at a time. On a sidenote, I think it wouldn't quite be the shit show it is if they just gave you a full beer. The one ounce mindset is "hey i'm only getting one ounce, so i need to drink as fast as possible and as much as possible." Needless to say, I probably drank 8,321 ounces. Or at least I felt like it.
It started out as a HEF. I had to work on Saturday and sent my stories on the way down. We're on the Light Rail one stop from the golden nectar palace and I get a call from work that they didn't get my stories. I have to go back resend them, then get back on the light rail.
Also I went into the most disgusting porta potty in my life. I've been in some doozies when I worked construction, but this was by far the worst. To put it simply, it seemed like everyone that had been in there made every effort to not make it in the toilet.
The real kicker of beer fest that got me was towards the end, the Geenis and I had a competition to see who could drink 35 ounces first. We both made it, but that was the thing that probably did me in. Also I didn't eat anything, which is interesting because I love eating.
At the end of the beer fest, my mind goes a little fuzzy.
Things I know that happened or that people told me happened.
Bought a 12-pack to hold me over until we got to the bar (was told this)
Smoked a pack of cigarettes (was told this and I felt like an ashtray in the morning)
Was nearly smoked by a Light Rail train (told this)
Was mocked out in the Light Rail by Geenis. Ole Gee was farting and blaming me. He made a big deal that I was a sick, sick man and everyone around him seemingly agreed. (vaguely remember feeling defenseless like I couldn't say anything).
WOke up at 4 a.m. freezing cold, unsure where I was, thought I lost my glasses and realized Geenis and I were on the floor sharing a small pillow and cuddling (no worries we were either ass to ass or weiner to weiner).
It wouldn't have been a Beer Fest, however, without one huge HEF. The ex was at Beer Fest, which was fine. It was actually fun to hang out with her again. Well after the Beer Fest we all were going to head downtown to Old Chicago. Things seemingly going well, took a turn I think. We had a long talk outside of Old Chicago, leaving everybody else inside. I have no idea what we talked about, since the Beer Fest got the best of me. I guess this is probably a good thing. I had no idea what was said (i briefly remember a few things) but have an idea after seeing the text message i sent a little later. (I also sent a message to Jill on the light rail ride home when Gee was getting the people of Luke Nation to turn against me that went like this "Jill I didn't fart. I promise." Ahh technology). So that was interesting. I apologized today for having the talk I didn't remember and being such a drama queen today. I don't know, but the ex has seemed a little weird towards me lately. Understandable/Perfectly normal. It seems like there's something that is bothering her, but she won't say. Maybe I'm just over analyzing things, which I tend to do with absolutely everything.
I think we're friends, and that will continue. Unless I start doing my own beer fest every night and having conversations about stuff I don't remember.
Other things to note of. I'm doing well with everything. It seems like not a whole lot has gone right, but what are you going to do? I guess I've gained a better perspective. Things aren't as bad as they seem.
Colorado football is killing me. It's the same thing every week. Here's the script for next week. In the game early, two to three turnovers in the red zone, bone-headed mistakes, defense plays well but is on the field forever so they wear down before getting blown out in the second half. Oh and Cody Hawkins will be 8 for 25 for 71 yards with a touchdown (YES!!!) and 3 INT. Plus he'll have six balls batted down or that hit his lineman in the head. He's as tall as me and it's still up in the air on who has a stronger arm. Nice right?
The Bills were off this week, so that disappointment is still a week away.
The baseball playoffs have been decent so far. For the record before both championship series started I thought it would be Dodgers in seven and Red Sox in five. At least that will lend itself to two weeks of Manny Ramirez stories.
I'm pretty excited for this election season to be done. The debates are the worst. Neither candidate answers the questions and it's painful to watch. Imagine if life was like these debates.
"Luke what are you going to do today?"
"Thanks Jim, and I appreciate you having me today. I will answer this question. What we need to do is take care of each other. You know, really support each other."
It's unbelievable. They should allow the moderator to have a switch that could turn off the candidates mic. If you talk to long, mic off. If you're answer relates in no way to the question, mic off. Seems plausible.
Until next time
Beer Fest rules. Just be careful out there when you're drinking. It can get the best of you.
HEF of the Week.
So many to choose from. Some have been noted above and we're all in for consideration. But here's a gem. Me and Gee were crushing camo Busch's on the way down to the Beer Fest. We're crushing them on the light Rail. i have one big drink left. So I step off the light Rail like the heavyweight champion of the world, flip my head back, fire up the can of happiness to my lips, take the last rip and smile. look up and there' three cops. They come over, tell me to throw the can away and the one cop says "if you're going to the beer fest, why do you need to bring your own beer to drink on the Light Rail?" Uhhhh. good point officer. At least I didn't get a ticket or arrested. Maybe it was because they thought they'd get me on something worse later. In hindsight maybe I should have just turned myself into the jail at the beginning of the weekend. You know, save the good people of COlorado money and time.
It started out as a HEF. I had to work on Saturday and sent my stories on the way down. We're on the Light Rail one stop from the golden nectar palace and I get a call from work that they didn't get my stories. I have to go back resend them, then get back on the light rail.
Also I went into the most disgusting porta potty in my life. I've been in some doozies when I worked construction, but this was by far the worst. To put it simply, it seemed like everyone that had been in there made every effort to not make it in the toilet.
The real kicker of beer fest that got me was towards the end, the Geenis and I had a competition to see who could drink 35 ounces first. We both made it, but that was the thing that probably did me in. Also I didn't eat anything, which is interesting because I love eating.
At the end of the beer fest, my mind goes a little fuzzy.
Things I know that happened or that people told me happened.
Bought a 12-pack to hold me over until we got to the bar (was told this)
Smoked a pack of cigarettes (was told this and I felt like an ashtray in the morning)
Was nearly smoked by a Light Rail train (told this)
Was mocked out in the Light Rail by Geenis. Ole Gee was farting and blaming me. He made a big deal that I was a sick, sick man and everyone around him seemingly agreed. (vaguely remember feeling defenseless like I couldn't say anything).
WOke up at 4 a.m. freezing cold, unsure where I was, thought I lost my glasses and realized Geenis and I were on the floor sharing a small pillow and cuddling (no worries we were either ass to ass or weiner to weiner).
It wouldn't have been a Beer Fest, however, without one huge HEF. The ex was at Beer Fest, which was fine. It was actually fun to hang out with her again. Well after the Beer Fest we all were going to head downtown to Old Chicago. Things seemingly going well, took a turn I think. We had a long talk outside of Old Chicago, leaving everybody else inside. I have no idea what we talked about, since the Beer Fest got the best of me. I guess this is probably a good thing. I had no idea what was said (i briefly remember a few things) but have an idea after seeing the text message i sent a little later. (I also sent a message to Jill on the light rail ride home when Gee was getting the people of Luke Nation to turn against me that went like this "Jill I didn't fart. I promise." Ahh technology). So that was interesting. I apologized today for having the talk I didn't remember and being such a drama queen today. I don't know, but the ex has seemed a little weird towards me lately. Understandable/Perfectly normal. It seems like there's something that is bothering her, but she won't say. Maybe I'm just over analyzing things, which I tend to do with absolutely everything.
I think we're friends, and that will continue. Unless I start doing my own beer fest every night and having conversations about stuff I don't remember.
Other things to note of. I'm doing well with everything. It seems like not a whole lot has gone right, but what are you going to do? I guess I've gained a better perspective. Things aren't as bad as they seem.
Colorado football is killing me. It's the same thing every week. Here's the script for next week. In the game early, two to three turnovers in the red zone, bone-headed mistakes, defense plays well but is on the field forever so they wear down before getting blown out in the second half. Oh and Cody Hawkins will be 8 for 25 for 71 yards with a touchdown (YES!!!) and 3 INT. Plus he'll have six balls batted down or that hit his lineman in the head. He's as tall as me and it's still up in the air on who has a stronger arm. Nice right?
The Bills were off this week, so that disappointment is still a week away.
The baseball playoffs have been decent so far. For the record before both championship series started I thought it would be Dodgers in seven and Red Sox in five. At least that will lend itself to two weeks of Manny Ramirez stories.
I'm pretty excited for this election season to be done. The debates are the worst. Neither candidate answers the questions and it's painful to watch. Imagine if life was like these debates.
"Luke what are you going to do today?"
"Thanks Jim, and I appreciate you having me today. I will answer this question. What we need to do is take care of each other. You know, really support each other."
It's unbelievable. They should allow the moderator to have a switch that could turn off the candidates mic. If you talk to long, mic off. If you're answer relates in no way to the question, mic off. Seems plausible.
Until next time
Beer Fest rules. Just be careful out there when you're drinking. It can get the best of you.
HEF of the Week.
So many to choose from. Some have been noted above and we're all in for consideration. But here's a gem. Me and Gee were crushing camo Busch's on the way down to the Beer Fest. We're crushing them on the light Rail. i have one big drink left. So I step off the light Rail like the heavyweight champion of the world, flip my head back, fire up the can of happiness to my lips, take the last rip and smile. look up and there' three cops. They come over, tell me to throw the can away and the one cop says "if you're going to the beer fest, why do you need to bring your own beer to drink on the Light Rail?" Uhhhh. good point officer. At least I didn't get a ticket or arrested. Maybe it was because they thought they'd get me on something worse later. In hindsight maybe I should have just turned myself into the jail at the beginning of the weekend. You know, save the good people of COlorado money and time.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Sports sucks
Is it possible to quit sports for a while? I'm not sure if I can. The problem is I'm way too invested into sports that it affects my day-to-day goings.
Case in point. Colorado gets smoked by Texas (a game in which I attended) and Buffalo got jacked by Arizona. That's back-to-back shitty days, which in turn left me feeling quite blue.
Maybe it's that I just continue to follow losers. But I couldn't do anything else but like those teams. I hold bandwagon jumpers in the same regard as I do terrorists, Nebraska football and herpes.
I am thinking that I need to give up sports for a while, though. Maybe pick up boating or something. The problem is when I like something, I go balls deep. No looking back. I'm like an SEC fan stuck in mediocre Big 12 play. Even worse like WAC play.
Since I'm a sports reporter, everyone always wants to talk sports. I'm usually up for it, but if you don't know sports as well as I do (which is the only thing I really know, besides how to suck at various elements of life, shuffleboard and beer drinking) it gets old all the time.
The other day a guy asked me if a bet he made that the New York Giants and Tennessee Titans would play in the Super Bowl was a good bet.
Sure. They're both undefeated. But hell if I was that good, I would be gambling in Vegas right now.
I'm thinking I am certainly going to give sports a break. Possibly not even watch them for a week. Disregard everything. (As I'm typing this, I figured I'd let you know Colorado just picked up a verbal commitment from a lineman. Boy do I need a hobby).
I mean this has to be healthy right?
It's quite the undertaking, but I'm going to see what happens.
Plus the Buffs are three years away from finishing third in the Big 12 North and Buffalo is three years away from moving to Toronto (yikes). On a side note, if Buffalo does move to Toronto, that's it, I'm going off the grid for a while and not looking back. I will give up sports completely. Or end up in the loony bin or federal prison for various things related to the Toronto Thunder (AKA Buffalo Bills).
Well life doesn't get any easier. A week after I believe I have things figured out, I actually have nothing figured out. The job in Fort Collins wasn't going to work out. Plus I think with the economy the way it is right now, having job security is worth more than a lot of things. Therefore a week after making a life decision, I've made a new one. I'm in Steamboat through the winter, then reavaluating stuff (which I'm currently working on). I'm satisfied with this decision. I feel kind of like a dirt bag going back and forth, but I did what I had to do. I feel like crap, but sometimes you have to do, what you have to do.
Plus I'm feeling better about things in Steamboat. On the family front, things still aren't great, but I'm going to take some time at the end of this month to deal with some things. Other things that were bothering me I feel like I've gotten a better handle on.
One thing that really helped was talking to a buddy I went to the CU game with. He had no ideas on my situation and was probably one of the best people I could talk to. He's a older than me, but has been where I'm at.
Long story (we all know I can tell them beautifully) short, he said you can't feel sorry for yourself and don't be a pussy. Pretty simple. Plus as Garth says "sometimes you just gotta do, what you gotta do."
That's about it.
Anyway, until next time. Maybe by then I'll have decided that I'm going to be a marriage counselor in Des Moines or a peep show janitor in Provo.
Oh, here's the new feature.
Hef of the Day
Happened Tuesday night in Hayden. Cover volleyball (a hef in itself) and the game is over. Go to talk to the coach. I ask a question then zone out (not uncommon). But I zoned out thinking if I told my mom I loved her the last time I talked to her. I was thinking about that when the coach finished. I said "anything else?" He said "no." I then put out this gem "Hey thanks again coach, I love you." At least he's a mid 20s guy, that thinks I'm creepy now.
Case in point. Colorado gets smoked by Texas (a game in which I attended) and Buffalo got jacked by Arizona. That's back-to-back shitty days, which in turn left me feeling quite blue.
Maybe it's that I just continue to follow losers. But I couldn't do anything else but like those teams. I hold bandwagon jumpers in the same regard as I do terrorists, Nebraska football and herpes.
I am thinking that I need to give up sports for a while, though. Maybe pick up boating or something. The problem is when I like something, I go balls deep. No looking back. I'm like an SEC fan stuck in mediocre Big 12 play. Even worse like WAC play.
Since I'm a sports reporter, everyone always wants to talk sports. I'm usually up for it, but if you don't know sports as well as I do (which is the only thing I really know, besides how to suck at various elements of life, shuffleboard and beer drinking) it gets old all the time.
The other day a guy asked me if a bet he made that the New York Giants and Tennessee Titans would play in the Super Bowl was a good bet.
Sure. They're both undefeated. But hell if I was that good, I would be gambling in Vegas right now.
I'm thinking I am certainly going to give sports a break. Possibly not even watch them for a week. Disregard everything. (As I'm typing this, I figured I'd let you know Colorado just picked up a verbal commitment from a lineman. Boy do I need a hobby).
I mean this has to be healthy right?
It's quite the undertaking, but I'm going to see what happens.
Plus the Buffs are three years away from finishing third in the Big 12 North and Buffalo is three years away from moving to Toronto (yikes). On a side note, if Buffalo does move to Toronto, that's it, I'm going off the grid for a while and not looking back. I will give up sports completely. Or end up in the loony bin or federal prison for various things related to the Toronto Thunder (AKA Buffalo Bills).
Well life doesn't get any easier. A week after I believe I have things figured out, I actually have nothing figured out. The job in Fort Collins wasn't going to work out. Plus I think with the economy the way it is right now, having job security is worth more than a lot of things. Therefore a week after making a life decision, I've made a new one. I'm in Steamboat through the winter, then reavaluating stuff (which I'm currently working on). I'm satisfied with this decision. I feel kind of like a dirt bag going back and forth, but I did what I had to do. I feel like crap, but sometimes you have to do, what you have to do.
Plus I'm feeling better about things in Steamboat. On the family front, things still aren't great, but I'm going to take some time at the end of this month to deal with some things. Other things that were bothering me I feel like I've gotten a better handle on.
One thing that really helped was talking to a buddy I went to the CU game with. He had no ideas on my situation and was probably one of the best people I could talk to. He's a older than me, but has been where I'm at.
Long story (we all know I can tell them beautifully) short, he said you can't feel sorry for yourself and don't be a pussy. Pretty simple. Plus as Garth says "sometimes you just gotta do, what you gotta do."
That's about it.
Anyway, until next time. Maybe by then I'll have decided that I'm going to be a marriage counselor in Des Moines or a peep show janitor in Provo.
Oh, here's the new feature.
Hef of the Day
Happened Tuesday night in Hayden. Cover volleyball (a hef in itself) and the game is over. Go to talk to the coach. I ask a question then zone out (not uncommon). But I zoned out thinking if I told my mom I loved her the last time I talked to her. I was thinking about that when the coach finished. I said "anything else?" He said "no." I then put out this gem "Hey thanks again coach, I love you." At least he's a mid 20s guy, that thinks I'm creepy now.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
So this is the next step.
I figured I'd start a blog since I'm a failed journalist and journalists are supposed to hate bloggers. Does this mean I hate myself or my former self or possibly even my future self? Not even close.
Anyway, Hefdubbing is interesting in itself.
The name comes from a nickname. It started in high school with this rapper Fat Lip. Pharcyde lovers unite. Anyway he has one of the sweetest videos ever. Plus this was the first rap song I knew all the words to. I was a badass after this. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK_WfF6hf2E —Funny but a very interesting and telling portrait of society.) Anyway as word got around via me about how sweet this was, my baseball team figured we all needed names associated with the word "White" since I'd already been dubbed (pun intended for those of you who know) Fat White which was ripped from Fat Lip. Also in the song the chorus goes "who am I kidding, who am I fooling, what's up Fat Lip?" Exchange Fat White for Fat Lip and I would rock some parties in high school with people chanting my nickname. Hell we had kids going by Real White, Turkey White, Half White and Deaf White (Later changed to DK for deaf kid. No worries he was cool with it).
Fat White progressed into F-Dub my junior year. By the time we hit college, it became apparent that unusually bad things seemed to happen to me. Some my fault, some unavoidable. Anyway these became known as Hef's (Huge embarrassing Failures). Therefore I started going by Hef Dub (I tried to pass it off as being smooth with the ladies and the Hef stood for Hugh Hefner). Despite a brief bought with the name Fit-dub (yes at one point I was fit), Hef Dub seemed to stay.
Well that's carried through with people that know me. There for, if you're one of my two readers, you've officailly been hef-dubbed. I of course did the hefdubbing.
Back to the point. I am in fact at the next stop in my life. I usually have great timing with these things. I left job security, benefits and steady pay (well, not really steady pay) during a time where this country faces the biggest financial and economic crisis in a long time.
This seems to be a trend in my life.
The first week I started my internship in Craig, Sports Illustrated called and said they had a spot for a fact checking intern.
After a month in Steamboat, Longmont where I had been working part time had two full-time positions open up. Both involved covering the Broncos, Avs, Rockies and Nuggets.
But it's something I've had to do. Not to bog people down, but my decision was based on several things.
1) My family is fucked up right now, and somehow I was voted team captain of hearing problems, dealing with them and trying to be there for everyone.
2) I didn't like my job. Hey I wanted to be a sports writer since I was 10. But I don't have that passion for it anymore. I think part of it was I was worked like a good looking $4 hooker. Plus I was fooling myself into thinking I was actually happy. I wasn't.
2a) The quest to refind that passion or a new one.
3) I'm a restless person. I get pretty bored with places after a couple years. I needed something completely new. In a way, I need a change. The whole layout of the people I worked with had changed too. To quote OAR "I needed a change from this burnout scene, another time, another town, another everything.
4) It's scary to say, but something was telling me I need to grow up. I didn't want to go out all the time anymore. That's what happens when you've suffered through roughly 82,486 hangovers, plus another 26,431 times I decided instead of being hungover, I'd just keep drinking. I've had some wicked fun benders, but I think about two months ago I decided I didn't want to do that anymore. Plus there were borderline times I was on the fence of being a full-fledged drunk. I've seen what alcohol can do to people and was seeing what it was doing to me. Steamboat's not necessarily the place to try to get out of that lifestyle. Plus a lot of the people I know in Steamboat could seriously be on "Ripley's believe it or not: drinking addition." I could certainly make that show as Hef Dub can polish them off with the best. (Side tangent, i've never seen anyone drink more than my buddy Curt. I've seen him drink 84 beers in a 24-hour period. I've also seen him shotgun 41 beers in the course of a night.) We made one hell of a drinking team.
Anyway, I think I'm ready to go onto my next adventure and next phase of what I'm going to do. I figure with making that decision I should attempt to be clear minded.
5. I've been hurt by the opposite sex back-to-back in Steamboat. Needless to say ski towns are nowhere to date anyone. The last one hurt good, but I'm moving on. Without saying too much, I don't think I was treated fairly at the end and that was the part that hurt the most. Person X is a very special and unique person that's full of good qualities. Unfortunately we were both at different spots in our life and inevitably we both had a lot of areas in our life we need to work on. It helped I had people/girls that had lived in Steamboat for a while that could break it down for me. Exactly what it's like to be a girl in a Ski Town and all the stuff of being in a place like Steamboat initially. Plus I liked her more than she liked me. But as Dennis Leary says, "Life sucks, get a fucking helmet."
That's a pretty good philosophy in just moving on, which I'm currently doing right now. If person X ever comes across this, good luck and thanks for the good times.
So that's that. If you've actually read to this point, good work. If you skimmed, good work. Anyway, I have 12 days left of work in Steamboat.
I figured we'd set some goals before we left.
Camp fire next to my house.
Golf one more time in Steamboat.
Send letters to my favorite people in Steamboat.
Draft a plan of action for what I want to do with my life, while trying to stay out of financial trouble, and in turn get everything worked out with my family, while finding time to reconnect with people I haven't seen on the Front Range....Fuck it. That can wait.
Anyway, Hefdubbing is interesting in itself.
The name comes from a nickname. It started in high school with this rapper Fat Lip. Pharcyde lovers unite. Anyway he has one of the sweetest videos ever. Plus this was the first rap song I knew all the words to. I was a badass after this. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK_WfF6hf2E —Funny but a very interesting and telling portrait of society.) Anyway as word got around via me about how sweet this was, my baseball team figured we all needed names associated with the word "White" since I'd already been dubbed (pun intended for those of you who know) Fat White which was ripped from Fat Lip. Also in the song the chorus goes "who am I kidding, who am I fooling, what's up Fat Lip?" Exchange Fat White for Fat Lip and I would rock some parties in high school with people chanting my nickname. Hell we had kids going by Real White, Turkey White, Half White and Deaf White (Later changed to DK for deaf kid. No worries he was cool with it).
Fat White progressed into F-Dub my junior year. By the time we hit college, it became apparent that unusually bad things seemed to happen to me. Some my fault, some unavoidable. Anyway these became known as Hef's (Huge embarrassing Failures). Therefore I started going by Hef Dub (I tried to pass it off as being smooth with the ladies and the Hef stood for Hugh Hefner). Despite a brief bought with the name Fit-dub (yes at one point I was fit), Hef Dub seemed to stay.
Well that's carried through with people that know me. There for, if you're one of my two readers, you've officailly been hef-dubbed. I of course did the hefdubbing.
Back to the point. I am in fact at the next stop in my life. I usually have great timing with these things. I left job security, benefits and steady pay (well, not really steady pay) during a time where this country faces the biggest financial and economic crisis in a long time.
This seems to be a trend in my life.
The first week I started my internship in Craig, Sports Illustrated called and said they had a spot for a fact checking intern.
After a month in Steamboat, Longmont where I had been working part time had two full-time positions open up. Both involved covering the Broncos, Avs, Rockies and Nuggets.
But it's something I've had to do. Not to bog people down, but my decision was based on several things.
1) My family is fucked up right now, and somehow I was voted team captain of hearing problems, dealing with them and trying to be there for everyone.
2) I didn't like my job. Hey I wanted to be a sports writer since I was 10. But I don't have that passion for it anymore. I think part of it was I was worked like a good looking $4 hooker. Plus I was fooling myself into thinking I was actually happy. I wasn't.
2a) The quest to refind that passion or a new one.
3) I'm a restless person. I get pretty bored with places after a couple years. I needed something completely new. In a way, I need a change. The whole layout of the people I worked with had changed too. To quote OAR "I needed a change from this burnout scene, another time, another town, another everything.
4) It's scary to say, but something was telling me I need to grow up. I didn't want to go out all the time anymore. That's what happens when you've suffered through roughly 82,486 hangovers, plus another 26,431 times I decided instead of being hungover, I'd just keep drinking. I've had some wicked fun benders, but I think about two months ago I decided I didn't want to do that anymore. Plus there were borderline times I was on the fence of being a full-fledged drunk. I've seen what alcohol can do to people and was seeing what it was doing to me. Steamboat's not necessarily the place to try to get out of that lifestyle. Plus a lot of the people I know in Steamboat could seriously be on "Ripley's believe it or not: drinking addition." I could certainly make that show as Hef Dub can polish them off with the best. (Side tangent, i've never seen anyone drink more than my buddy Curt. I've seen him drink 84 beers in a 24-hour period. I've also seen him shotgun 41 beers in the course of a night.) We made one hell of a drinking team.
Anyway, I think I'm ready to go onto my next adventure and next phase of what I'm going to do. I figure with making that decision I should attempt to be clear minded.
5. I've been hurt by the opposite sex back-to-back in Steamboat. Needless to say ski towns are nowhere to date anyone. The last one hurt good, but I'm moving on. Without saying too much, I don't think I was treated fairly at the end and that was the part that hurt the most. Person X is a very special and unique person that's full of good qualities. Unfortunately we were both at different spots in our life and inevitably we both had a lot of areas in our life we need to work on. It helped I had people/girls that had lived in Steamboat for a while that could break it down for me. Exactly what it's like to be a girl in a Ski Town and all the stuff of being in a place like Steamboat initially. Plus I liked her more than she liked me. But as Dennis Leary says, "Life sucks, get a fucking helmet."
That's a pretty good philosophy in just moving on, which I'm currently doing right now. If person X ever comes across this, good luck and thanks for the good times.
So that's that. If you've actually read to this point, good work. If you skimmed, good work. Anyway, I have 12 days left of work in Steamboat.
I figured we'd set some goals before we left.
Camp fire next to my house.
Golf one more time in Steamboat.
Send letters to my favorite people in Steamboat.
Draft a plan of action for what I want to do with my life, while trying to stay out of financial trouble, and in turn get everything worked out with my family, while finding time to reconnect with people I haven't seen on the Front Range....Fuck it. That can wait.
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